2015 Spring Gorge Trip: Sailing Everywhere!

June 18, 2015 - Wind and Sailing everywhere.

Dog River and Bette's - bla bla bla.......

The Forecast wasn't great, with Temira saying it would be best at Stevenson, while the guy's in the shops said it would be better out East. Opposite Forecasts. We all met at the Hatchery around 11:30, but the wind didn't look very good. There was lots of discussion about what to do....

The Crossing

The Crossing restaurant in Stevenson makes the best Panini Sandwiches and Lemonade in the Gorge (possibly the world), so I decided to go to Stevenson for lunch and check out the wind. Harold, Gerry, Al, Brad, Blaine, Kent, Rene and Handre all followed. The wind was light when we got there, but began to build. Kent was first out on his 6.6. The water was flat, but the wind was very consistent.

Kent, Blaine and Rene

Handre was making most of his Jibes!

Handre - another Jibe!

Kent using a random sailor as a Jibe Mark!

Al had a great day!

Blaine was having fun too!

We had 4 hours of flying back and forth racing each other across the water on our big gear. (I was on my 6.6 Hucker and Shark Board). It was a great confidence builder. Everyone had a lot of fun. It was 6:00 when we got off the water. As ususal we sat around for an hour or so sitting on the grass de-rigging and de-briefing. We all agreed that we had absolutely made the right call.

Tim decided to go to Doug's Beach. Of course none of this can be verified by any kind of photo or collaborative evidence, but Tim said he had 3 hours of remarkable sailing on his 5.4. He said he was fully powered and should probably have been on his 4.8 for most of the day. He claims that he absolutely made the right call - he just wishes that the rest of us were there so he didn't have to sail by himself.

Jim, Cam and Cynthia went to the new Luhr Janzen Beach west of the Event Site, and also had a very good session. Jim says he enjoyed some screaming jibes in the flat water on the inside. (I am not sure if this means he was going fast and completing beautiful jibes or if he was just scared and was screaming out loud as he came into his jibes before he exploded as initiated his turn?) Jim says they make the right call and had a great day.

Cam went for a kiting lesson at 4:00. It sounds like he may be turning to the dark side. He is very excited about the sport is looking forward to learning on his new Directional Kiting Board.

Gerry and I went for Chinese. As we were walking down to the restaurant, Bart started calling to us. He was in the Pint's to go Pub with his friend Squirrel and owner Eddy. Bart, who knows everyone in town, was calling out to everyone driving past - giving one girl a hard time for smoking ("Get rid of that stick between your fingers") and another friend a hard time for texting while driving. He was having a lot of fun. He seem to really enjoy life!

Pint to go Pub.
(Left to Right - Gerry, Eddy (owner), Squirrel, Bart).

A lot of the guy's went to the Mexican Restaurant on the hill, and others went to the Three Rivers Grill.

The big news when we got back to the condo was that Tiger Woods had shot over 80 for the thrid time on the pro tour. Brad, Blaine and others were glued to the Golf Channel.

Kent, Rene, Al, Tim and I had another game of Hearts. Everyone is pretty well worn out. I have had 8 days sailing this trip and it looks like we will be sailing again tomorrow!

Handre packed up and is planning on leaving at 5:00am in the morning. Most of the rest of us may leave after sailing Friday, but a few will be sticking around for a few more days. Al is meeting his wife and will be staying at Ross's for a few more days.